Dia dos Namorados

This is a heads-up to all the expats currently living in Brazil: Don’t forget that Sunday is Valentine’s Day.

The good thing is that we get two Valentine’s Days each year: February 14th and June 12th. The bad news is that it is a pain trying to remember the date here in Brazil (if you somehow miss the TV advertising, the storefront window displays, and the hints perhaps dropped by your loved one).

I’m told that in Brazil the date is in June to move it out from under the cloud of Carnaval, which overshadows everything in the early months of the year. The anniversary of the Christian Bishop Valentine’s beheading for performing clandestine weddings apparently is not sufficient to keep the date February 14th, but the eve of Christian Saint Anthony’s feast day (the marriage or matchmaker saint) fits the bill. (I’m sure Ray will clear this up.)

If I remember my folklore right – if you want to find a mate to marry you can bury a statue of Saint Anthony upside-down and scold it, insisting he find you a match. You then leave poor Anthony there until he delivers.

When I was growing up in Michigan, Saint Anthony was known as the patron saint of lost causes. Hmmm, I wonder if there is a connection…

At any rate, don’t forget your special someone on Sunday.

Oh, and from the eternal wisdom of Dan Savage, venerated radical sex advice columnist, if you are looking for a little coochie coochie on Valentines Day – DO NOT first load up on dinner and drinks expecting to come home and do the deed. You will just hit the bed and fall asleep. Play first, then go out to dinner to celebrate! ** Ear muff the kids. NSFW. Watch Dan explain. Adult content.

Brazil's good luck charms

Attracting good luck, and thus more money, is pretty much a common-wisdom charm practice by lots of folks here.

For example, we have a ceramic penguin that sits atop our refrigerator (note: not on a shelf, not on a table, not on a window sill – on top of the refrigerator). S/he is supposed to bring us more money. We wait anxiously for these results.

Luiz’s aunt gave us a couple of bay leaves a while back. We are to keep them in our wallet. They will bring us money. We have compromised – they are pinned to the bulletin board in our kitchen. (No money just yet, as far as we can tell. But maybe we have broken the charm by not keeping them in our wallets.)

Last year a good friend surrendered his good luck (money) charm to us. It is a tiny glass bottle filled with salt and draped with tiny ribbons holding various charms (bought in the North East of the country). Apparently it was not working for him, so he gave it to us. We have it sitting on a shelf in the kitchen. No money yet. But we are hopeful.

There are an endless number of “simpatias” and charms that are meant to bring about desired results. I only wish they worked. Our apartment has an inordinate number of these jingo-lingoes. And yet we wait…